Museum's past inspires showcase of the future

"Museum researchers, like me, didn't want to lag behind in building our museum and through discussion, we resolved to collect and expand the museum's collection through holding exhibitions," says the retiree.

In 1954, the preparatory committee held an exhibition on the country's mineral resources at the Palace Museum's Hall of Literary Brilliance (Wenhua Dian) and later several exhibitions were organized by the committee. These events made the museum one of the major cultural venues getting widespread public attention.

In 1956, "the central natural history museum" started construction at Tianqiao Nandajie (Tianqiao South Street). It was designed with three stories in the main building and two stories in its two wings.

In January 1959, it opened its doors to the public, becoming the first large-scale natural history museum built by the country on its own with a large amount of specimens representing a vivid evolutionary history.